Any Studio Monitor love? Looking at an upgrade from my setup

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I got the JBL 305s just this week. They do sound better than anything I've ever heard before, and the price is really unbeatable.

They do lack solid, really low bass - they still are 5'' speakers - but I guess thats normal for any monitor of this size.

JBL makes a sub (LSR310) for these, might be worth looking at. I'm considering it for listening to music with more low end.

>>57596765

I have pair of HS7 and I like them most. if I was poor I'd def go for LSR308.

I have a couple of LSR305 and an LSR310 paired with a UR22. I'm very happy with my purchase. Music sounds quite nice, much nicer than any of the other speakers in my house.

jbl lsr305s or if you want bigger get the airmotiv 6s instead

JBL is trash for frequency response. not very honest if youre mixing. just get some yamaha hs series monitors and call it a wrap

>>57596765
Mackies ftw

>>57596765
The 8's are fucking huge

Been rocking HS50Ms for 7 years now and I still love them. I'll be sad if I ever have to replace them.

>>57601565
They have no fucking bass.

Replace them with HS7's and be blown away.

>>57601621
Noted, but I'll take a look only when I absolutely have to. The days of spending hundreds on audio equipment for no fucking reason are long behind me, I'm afraid.

>>57598868
the 305s were enticing but the 308s are not much more and seem def more worth it but lacks a little in lows

>>57601561
I know but the larger drivers would be nice for media consumption as well

>>57601495
I'm okay with some color in the sound since its going to be my speakers for media consumption as well.

I'm looking to buy a pair of stereo speakers for my desk that I'm going to hook up with my PC, to exclusively play music. I currently listen to EDM and Hip Hop mostly.

Now my question is, what kind of speakers should I get? Active ones or passive ones? "Hifi" speakers or monitors? I really have no clue.

I'm thankful for all responses.

>>57602248
if you are exclusively listening, I don't think you need to spend all the cash on monitors. take a look at the Logitech Z-623

>>57602348
Price is (to an extend of 500€) not a problem. I just want the "best possible sound" for the cash I'm shelling out.

I highly doubt a Logitech product fits that description. Still, thanks for the reply!

Have you heard of the Bowers & Wilkins MM-1? These are also USB speakers.

>>57602248
> to hook up with my PC

I'd definetly say active speakers then.
All speakers need some sort of amplifier, and active speaker simply means that the amplifier is already built into the case of the speaker and is built to work with the speaker as good as it can get, pretty much.

For passive speakers, you'd need to buy an amplifier seperately - think Patrick Bateman's HiFi-setup, you'd probably be getting a big box like that, so for a PC/desk setup, active speakers work well.

Now what type of speaker is another question, but going from your PC setup, something similar to the speakers discussed above (JBL 305/308) would work well. Monitors are generally used in a setup where the speakers are positioned pretty close to you, e.g. a mixing desk at a studio.


Also, interference from your PCs components becomes a deal when listening with studio equipment. For example, I'm getting noise from my graphics card (mouse movements/dragging a box on your desktop are audible; high FPS (e.g. in CS:GO) produce a whole load of noise.
This just stems from the nature of most motherboard soundcards, which are shittily isolated. You get all kinds of electromagnetic spookys into your sound output.
You might need a ~100$ USB Audio Interface in that case (p. much an external sound card). On the plus side, those would give you a volume knob (you'd have to get a volume controller for monitors anyways) and additional features like mic input, headphone amp etc.

>>57602248
>"Hifi" speakers or monitors
A matter of marketing and target demographic. As far as sound quality is concerned, none necessarily.
Monitors tend to have less styling and trim, usually plainer cabinets. "Hi-fi" is aimed for the home demographic and will generally have more colors and shapes.

"Hi-fi" speakers will put more budget into the aesthetic and be more likely to experiment with the design, sometimes in ways that sound really bad.

>Active ones or passive ones
In normal usage, it means whether the speaker has an amplifier built into it or not. Active do, passives do not. Monitors are more often powered than not. Consumer models are usually not.

Where the amplifier is doesn't matter as far as sound quality goes. Active crossovers can make a difference, and these are commonly associated with powered speakers.
You can still have an active crossover with a non-powered speaker; the crossover and amplifiers are purchased separately in that case. These are somewhat rare.


>>57602464
>Monitors are generally used in a setup where the speakers are positioned pretty close to you
Near field listening is not exclusive to monitors. Near field is just location and proximity to the speaker.
As such, anything that fits on the desk with close tweeter/woofer(or midrange) spacing works.

>>57602464
As for active speakers, especially the ones you mentioned, aren't they designed for music producers? So won't the sound be flat and boring to someone that just wants to listen to music?

I know that I'd need an amp for passive speakers. I'd probably buy something like the SMSL Q5 PRO since I have no need for a receiver. But are these good enough to power passive speakers? I currently have my eyes on the Elac Debut B6.

I already have a DAC (Fiio E10K) that I could use.

>>57601707
>I know but the larger drivers would be nice for media consumption as well
What does that even mean?

>>57602599
woulldn't the 308s handle bass better than the 305s?

>>57602566
> flat and boring
I can't really say if that would be the case. True, monitors are meant to reproduce sound as accurate as possible; but generally, isn't that what a speaker is supposed to do?

Anyhow, if a monitor or any speaker does sound too dull, you can always use an EQ and "spice" the sound up to your liking.

More importantly though, you mentioned EDM and Hip Hop, and that definetly calls for a subwoofer. Ive noticed that those genres arent that much fun without one, so thats going to be something to consider.

>>57602654
the bigger the speaker, the more room is required for them to breath.. ergo smaller speakers for a desktop environment are always better than standard sized bookshelf speakers.

you might get nice bass volumes but the neutrality and stereoimaging will be all over the place

>>57602694
You're right, they should. By EQ, do you mean a hardware or software one?

Even though I live in a rental apartment, I'd love to get a subwoofer. Could I get active speakers and a sub for less than 500€?

>>57602695
I plan on using them on a 65ish inch long desk so wasn't sure if the 305s would cut it. Would it sound worse in this environment?

>>57602845
depends on how close they are to a wall and how good you isolate them from your table

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Made the stands myself

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>>57596765
>Also, post your monitors/speakers
I just have a "hi-fi" setup, I've been very happy with it for years now. I don't really plan on replacing anything unless it breaks.

NAD C 326BEE > Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 + BK Electronics Gemini II

I have some issues with speaker and sub positioning in the room, but there's not much I can do. The speakers are too far apart for my position sitting at my desk, but I can't move them closer together because they'd be sitting behind my monitors, which is much worse. Sub sits in a corner behind me, anywhere else I place it, it just becomes almost impossible to hear unless I go absolutely crazy with the gain on the thing, which I don't want to do. Still, it blends in well with the speakers and for certain content having it is much, much better than just the speakers or even headphones.

>>57602654
They have tiny bit more low frequency extension and are capable of higher sustained SPL but no, not really. Bass in a room is highly dependent on other factors than the loudspeaker specs and driver size alone tells nothing of importance.

>>57602566
>So won't the sound be flat and boring to someone that just wants to listen to music?
A short answer would be no as that is equally dependent on the production of said music and it's not the loudspeakers' job to alter the mix.

>>57602818
If you have the option to use software PEQ, that's a better option. It can be much more powerful than any hardware solution and also higher quality, depending on the equalizer in use. There are discrete digital processors if your sound system is hooked up to multiple sources and not just a personal computer where you can always use EQ.

As for budget, no chance buying new.

>>57602866
My desk would be right next to a wall on one side and I would be mounting each monitor on a bracket

>>57602880
looks great, but your cable management needs some work

>>57602897
I have monitor audios and a c325bee and was thinking of adding a sub as well. I have no idea how to connect it though, can you upload a diagram of your setup?

>>57603372
It's not as bad as it looks now. There's a cable tray on the back of the table.

>>57602566
> flat and boring

Is hearing music the way its suppose to boring? Just get beats or Bose you dumb fuck

>>57602880
> i made the speaker stands myself

rofl i can tell they dont even look finished
and they're bulky.
also -
>bump the stand and the speaker falls
is a stand flaw.
as stated, they're not finished.
would be nice if you completed your work
and THEN bragged about it.

>>57603407
I had a look at the 325, unlike my 326 it does not seem to have line-level subwoofer output. Mine does, so hooking up the sub was as easy as plugging in the RCA lead that came with the sub in the back of the amp. I then adjusted gain, phase and the cutoff frequency on the sub itself. Note that my setup doesn't filter the bass from the speakers, so I had to find the right level of gain and the right frequency for the sub's filter so the bass blends in (75Hz in my case, though I think I may need to lower it a bit further).

Since you don't have a sub output, most sub models support high-level input as well. This means one of 2 things: you either hook up the sub "in parallel" to the speakers from the amp's high-power output or the speakers go through the sub entirely, so you've got something like this:
Amp speaker output > sub high-level input > sub high-level output > speakers

The 325 does have a preamp output looks like, so those may also work. Using 2 RCA Y adapters could work, you'd plug one into the sub and the other into the amp's main input, for each channel. This means you'd need a sub with stereo line-level input. Not sure about the output level on a "dedicated" sub out and on the preamp output, but I suppose that could be adjusted using the gain on the sub. Never seen a sub connected like this, so I'm not sure.

>>57603547
you should look into the mirror before criticising on him.

his stands are totally okay.

>>57603547
I've got no issues with toppling, even on carpet. The whole thing was 7 quid to build plus my time and I've measured them to the height of my ears to the ground so they're personalized for me. It would have cost me 60 quid for shitty stands.